Strength in the Weak and Courage in the Afraid
by Lyxli
Summary: Neville Longbottom is the typical weak type. Or is he? Neville magically turns into the most popular kid in school! He is strong, brave, and smart and even knocks ot Draco! R&R, please!
1. Summer Vacation

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters. Jo Rowling does in the Harry Potter books.

**Note:** This story takes place after the fifth book, starting at summer vacation.

**Title: **Strength in the Weak and Courage in the Afraid

**Chapter One: **Summer Vacation

The train was slowing down… the King's Cross is in view.

Fifteen-year-old Neville Longbottom gazed out the window. He was sitting alone on the train, with no one to talk to or chatter excitedly with. He sighed heavily and gathered his luggage. Neville could see his grandmother waving to him from the platform.

* * *

"Neville, I just got a letter in the mail." 

Neville's grandmother called to him from the kitchen. He got up from his chair and slowly walked next door.

"It's from a boy named 'Draco Malfoy,' " his grandmother said stiffly.

Neville froze. _Malfoy? Writing to him?_

He shakily accepted the letter, opening it carefully.

Inside was a murky, thick liquid that oozed all over Neville's fingers.

"AHHHHH!"

The liquid burned, leaving extreme scotch marks on Neville's hands.

"WATER!"

Neville's grandmother was busy reading the Daily Prophet, but at the request, she handed him her scalding tea.

Neville quickly dumped the cup on his fingers, assuming that it was icy water.

"AHHHHH! I'M DYING!"

"Now, now, Neville dear, it's not that bitter."

* * *

"This Malfoy boy put WHAT in the envelope?" 

"Some sort of hot liquid! IT BURNED MY FINGERS!"

Neville started to cry, but his grandmother showed no sympathy.

"You idiot! You shan't cry over such a thing! You should fight back! Teach him a lesson!"

Neville moaned, "But how?"

His grandmother screeched, "WHAT? DON'T TELL ME YOU SAID 'HOW'! I SHALL TEACH YOU MYSELF IF I MUST!"

* * *

But of course, she was too lazy. She merely hired a karate teacher for Neville. 

"One, two, three , four, FIGHT!"

"Ughhh…."

Day one at karate class. Neville was beaten to a pulp by a five-year-old.

Day two at karate class. No improvement.

Day three, ditto.

Day fifty-six, however, MAJOR improvement.

"KEEEEEEEEEE-YA!"

SMASH. BREAK. DESTROY. EAT. KILL.

Neville successfully knocked his teacher into a coma. Proudly, Neville showed off his black belt on live muggle TV. Of course, a Memory Charm here and there, and nobody got in jail.

"NEVILLE! YOU MUSTN'T MURDER YOUR TEACHER NEXT TIME! I HAVE ENROLLED YOU IN SUMMER MAGIC SCHOOL TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!"

* * *

Five weeks later…. 

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"NEVILLE! DON'T USE AVADA ON YOUR TEACHER!"

"But it was on our exam…. How do you do the Killing Curse?"

"NOT DO IT ON YOUR TEACHER! AHHHHHH!"

A couple Memory Charms….. and voila. No one in Azkaban.


	2. Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferre

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, but I'm her best friend!  Lying

**Note:** This story ignores what happened in the sixth Harry Potter book.

**Title:** Strength in the Weak and Courage in the Afraid

**Chapter Two:** Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret

* * *

"Now, now, Neville. Time to go to Hogwarts. And you promised…."

"Not to murder anyone. Yeah, I know Grandma!" Neville yelled after her.

Neville got on the train and sat in a compartment…. With Harry Potter and his gang.

"Umm… hi Neville," Harry said.

Neville wanted to prove what a non-wimp he was.

"CRUCIO!"

As Harry was being tortured, Neville cried, "See Harry? I learned so much since last year!"

* * *

Neville entered the Great Hall proudly. This was going to be a great year.

"Hey Longbottom! Enjoy your summer?" Draco was laughing his head off, pointing at Neville.

"Why you… AVADA—"

"Expelliarmus!"

Draco's spell caught Neville off-guard, and hurled him across the Great Hall and smashed him onto the wall.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Minerva, isn't this pumpkin pie so tasty? And this beer…" hiccuped Dumbledore.

"YES! PASS ME THE BEER, DUMBY!"

"I WANT MORE!" Snape hollered.

"NO! GIMME!" Sprout yelled.

There was a scramble for the last bottle of beer, involving all the drunk proffessors.

…And now you know why the teachers never noticed a thing.

* * *

"You… you filthy little FERRET!" Neville cried. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Draco suddenly collapsed on the floor, unable to move an inch. His eyes were wide in shock, and his mouth open.

Neville stepped on his stomach, crying, "WHO'S THE BOSS NOW, HUH? WHY I OUGHTA…

"AVADA—"

"LONGBOTTOM!"

Professor McGonagall was running towards Neville, unable to believe her eyes.

"HOW _DARE _YOU! YOU KNOW BETTER TO USE AN UNFORGIVEABLE CURSE EVEN ON A FILTHY, DIRTY, SCUMMY, IDIOTIC, STUPID, FOOLISH, DIM-WITTED, PIECE OF—"

"And _you_, Minerva, know better to utter cuss words in my school, you b—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH BEER FOR YOU, SIR! AND YOU, MA'AM!" Flitwick squeaked.

Neville took advantage of this professor quarrel to escape into his dorm, where he was given a big surprise.

"PARTY! NEVILLE, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! THAT WAS SWEET!"

"TOTALLY AWESOME, DUDE!"

"YOU REALLY TAUGHT HIM A LESSON!"

Here and there, Gryffindors were complementing Neville for his wonderful show at the Great Hall. And for the first time, Neville was treated like a hero in the common room.


	3. The Unknown Potion

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, sadly. -cries-

**Note: **This fanfic takes place after Neville's fifth year at Hogwarts. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has never happened.

**Title:** Strength in the Weak and Courage in the Afraid

**Chapter Three: **The Unknown Potion

* * *

Neville woke up to a glorious day. 

_Potions class! All right!_

As odd as it seems, Neville dressed in a hurry and was asked to sit at the most popular seats in the Great Hall.

"Come on, Neville! Sit over _here_!"

"Longbottom, I saved you a seat!"

"Hey, Neville!"

"Sit here at the _cool_ table!"

Neville sat next to the trio, grinning happily.

"Uh, we didn't invite you to sit here," Harry said coldly. He still hasn't forgotten about the Cruciatus Curse.

Neville narrowed his eyes at him and refused to give up his seat.

"Did you see me fight Malfoy? Ha! He sure got what was coming to him…"

"Neville, no offense or anything, BUT SHUT UP! WE SAW IT!"

"Geez, Harry, just in case you missed it—"

"I'll be sure to miss it next time," Harry said sarcastically.

* * *

"Tell me, Mr. I-am-so-famous-now-that-I-beat-Malfoy, who-just-so-happens-to-be-a-Slytherin-so-50-points-from-Gryffindor, what do you get by mixing… uh… dragon's blood with unicorn's horn with paper clips, quills, bubble gum, sugar, bunnies, plastic, cloth, chocolate, a severed human's head, pepper, eggs, galleons, parchment, coconut, pineapple, Polyjuice Potion, basilisk's fang, goat's milk, butter, cheese, telephones, butterbeer, horse hairs, rocks, trees, feathers…." 

As Snape was rambling on, Neville was listening to every word, proving to Snape how smart he was.

"… and a…. wand?"

Severus Snape smirked haughtily. There was no such thing as such a potion, and he was sure that Longbottom would have no clue.

Neville remembered every ingredient in the potion.

"Professor, you would get dragon's blood with unicorn's horn with paper clips, quills, bubble gum, sugar, bunnies, plastic, cloth, chocolate, a severed human's head, pepper, eggs, galleons, parchment, coconut, pineapple, Polyjuice Potion, basilisk's fang, goat's milk, butter, cheese, telephones, butterbeer, horse hairs, rocks, trees, feathers, and a wand mixed together, sir. Which would create a very nasty odor and requre a caldron with a diameter of 13 feet," Neville answered ingeniously.

Snape's mouth hung open. He could not deny that Neville's answer was correct, for there was seriously nothing wrong with it.

"…rig—I mean, whatever! You—I—What—"

Snape turned away from Neville and seated down. He avoided Neville's raised hand for the rest of the day, forced to pick on Hermione.

* * *

"NEVILLE! YOU REALLY SHOWED SNAPE!" 

"THAT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT!"

All around, Neville was receiving complements from his classmates after Potions class. However, there were three people in the crowd of Gryffindors who were not at all pleased.

"Look at him, the great prat. Last year, he couldn't hold a wand with burning himself, and now he's the coolest kid in school!" Draco snarled.

"I totally agree with you, Malfoy, I—" Harry broke off quickly. _Had he just said "I," "agree," and "Malfoy" in the same sentence?_

"Yes, he is really showing it off. He actually raised his hand in class, more than me! MORE THAN ME!"

"Calm down, Hermione!" Harry shouted.

It may be strange to see Harry, Hermione, and Draco chatting like childhood friends, but it is nothing compared to what happened in the common room.

When the old gang arrived in the common room, each jaw was on the floor.

Neville was the star of the party. He was literally break-dancing on the floor, while chugging a glass of butterbeer, while singing an opera song expertly.

Ron quickly ran up to cheer him on. Harry and Hermione dropped into armchairs as far away as possible.

"I can't believe it! Neville! How could _he _have more attention than me? _I_ brought the downfall of Voldemort, _I_ have to fulfill the prophecy. And everyone's cheering _Neville_ on because he beat Malfoy up and showed Snape in class?" Harry complained.

"Exactly, Harry! _AND _he acts like he's smarter than ME! DOES HE STAND UP FOR ELF RIGHTS? DID HE HELP YOU IN THOSE TASKS TWO YEARS AGO? DID HE DISCOVER AN ESCAPED CONVICT, ONLY TO REALIZE THAT HE WAS INNOCENT? DID HE HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS? DID HE HELP GET THE PHILOSIPHER'S STONE? _HUH?_"

Hermione took several deep breaths.

"Which is why we need a plan… yes, a plan to bring about his downfall. I don't know how he got so smart, or so popular in two days, but just you wait…"

* * *

Read and Review, please! Hope you guys found it funny... sorry for the short-ness, I'll try to lengthen the next chapters!


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